Post or pile driver.



Patented Mar. I2, I91.

rid. 669,646.

J. S. KUESTER.

POST 0R PILE DRIVER.

(Application filed Oct. 80, W00.

3 Sheath-Shunt 2:.

(No Model.)

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r onms PETERS $0., Pflm'awrwa, WASHING Patented Mar. 12, l90|l J. S.K'OESTER. PosT on PILE DRIVER.

(Application flied Oct. so. 1900.

3 Shoats8heet 3.

(No Model.)

[NVENTOR 670/222 6? Easter W/ T/VESSES.

Attorney m: uo ms vzren; no. PHOTO-LITI Q. WASHINGTQN, u 04 litre rarearena FMCE.

JOHN S? KOESTER, OF IBERIA, MISSOURI.

POST OR PILE DRlVER.

$PEGIFIOATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 669,646, dated March12, 1901.

Application filed October 30, 1900. Rerial No. 9 4,891. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN S. KOESTER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Iberia, in the county of Miller and State of Missouri, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Post or Pile Drivers;and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings,making a part of this specification, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon.

The present invention has for its object to provide a simple, eifective,and easilyoperating machine for driving fence-posts and also piles andother like stays or supports, and that may be moved from one post toanother by horse-power without the necessity of unliitching the team;and the invention consists in a machine constructed substantially asshown in the drawings and hereinafter described and claimed.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a top plan view of a machine constructed inaccordance with my invention; Fig. 2, a front end view of the machine,partly in section and upon an enlarged scale; Fig. 3, a top plan view ofthe forward truck on the front end of the machine, showing the gearingconnecting therewith; Fig. 4, a side elevation of the machine with thederrick and brace-arms elevated and ready for use. Fig. 5 is a detailsectional view showing the center or butterfly gear-wheel and the twogear-wheels upon the hollowshafts which mesh with the pinions of thecenter or butterfly wheel; Fig. 6, a front elevation of the upper end ofthe derrick with its connections and also the hammer; Fig. 7, anelevation showing the rear end of the machine; Fig. 8, a detail planview of a portion of the frame of the machine, showing the gearing anddrum connected thereto; Fig. 9, a crosssection of the drum shown in Fig.8; Fig. 10, a detail view of one of the drums connected to the frame atthe rear of the machine, showing the ratchet, pawl, and the crank-handlefor operating the same.

In the accompanying drawings, A represents a rectangular frame of anypreferred construction, and when mounted upon its proper trucks will besufficiently high to admit of the horses passing underneath said framewhen found necessary, said trucks and their connecting parts beinghereinafter described.

A derrick B is pivotally connected to the rear end of the frame A in anywell-known and preferred manner, said pivotal connection being shown ata, in Fig. 4 of the drawings. This derrick maybe of any suitable formand construction and has parallelguides b for a suitable hammer C toslide up and down thereon, the pivotal connection of the derrick withthe frame admitting of the for mer being adjusted both backward andforward from a perpendicular and on line with the frame, as foundnecessary in the operation of the machine. The adjustability of thederrick is attained by means of the cords or ropes c d, which extendaround suitable drums 6, connected to a transverse shaftf, provided witha crank-handle g for turning the shaft and drums. The cords or ropes c dextend from the drums 6 over grooved pulleys 77. upon the upper ends ofbrace-arms D,which arms are connected at their upper ends by a Isuitable transverse bar 2' and at their lower ends pivotally connectedto short standardsj. The cords or ropes c (1 may pass over groovedpulleys q, secured in the guides m, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 of thedrawings, although any special arrangement or number of pulleys may bevaried or modified or changed without departing from the principle ofthe invention. These brace-arms D, near their upper ends, haveratchet-teeth 7i) 1 upon the upper and under sides, respectively, theupper ends of the brace-arms extending through guides m, secured to thederrick B, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. These ratchetteeth uponthe upper and under side of the brace-arms are disposed in oppositedirections, so that the arms may be locked in one position by means ofthe pawls n engaging the ratchet-teeth l6, and the ratchet-teethlengaging the pins 0, secured in the guides m, as shown in Fig. 6 of thedrawings.

The employment of the two sets of ratchetteeth, as herein described,gives double security in holding the brace-arms D in. position and alsothe derrick in its adjusted position.

The cords or ropes c d are connected at their upper ends to the derrickB, and a third cord or rope p is also attached to the derrick at itsupper end and extends down and over a drum q,which drum connects withthe drums e by means of a sprocket or other suitable connection 1'engaging sprocket or other form of wheels 8, or any other suitable meansmay be provided for operating the derrick and brace-arms, as found mostconvenient.

The means herein described of controlling the derrick and the brace-armsand holding them in position enables the derrick to be tilted to anyangle with relation to a perpendicular and also held in a perpendicularposition regardless of the unevenness of the ground.

When the ground is uneven, the frame A of the maehineis tilted to therequired angle to bring it horizontally in position for operating themachine. To accomplish this, the frame A is pivoted to the truck E atthe rear of the machine, said truck being provided with suitable wheelsF of any desirable construction. This truck is provided with a segmentallower block t, as shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings, and above thissegmental lower block is a segmental upper block Gr, connecting with theframe A, said segmental upper block being supported over the lower oneand pivotally connected therewith by means of a plate u or by any otherwell-known means to enable the frame A to rock or move in adjusting theangle of the frame A. To operate the upper block G and also the frame Ato bring said frame to the required angle, so that it will assume ahorizontal position when on uneven ground, a lever H is provided, whichis pivoted to the segmental lower block 25, which lever may be of anypreferred construction, but preferably with arms '0, suitably connectedpivotally to the lever, as shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings. The pivotpin or bolt w, which pivots the lower end of the lever H to thesegmental lower block t, also serves to pivot the upper block G to saidlower block through the medium of the plate u; but any other well-knownmeans may be resorted to to form a pivotal connection between thesegmental lower block and the upper block. To the ends of the arms '0are pivoted bell-cranks m, and to these bellcranks are pivoted the endsof hangers y, said hangers being in turn pivoted to the upper block G.To the upper end of the lever H are connected cords or ropes a, whichextend over drums I), provided with crankhandles 6, whereby the drumsmay be rotated to wind or unwind the cord or rope a to bring the frame Ato the desired angle to secure its perfect horizontal position when themachine is on aside hill or uneven ground.

Any suitable means may he provided for tipping the upper block G, withframe A, to adjust the frame to the unevenness of the ground, the lever,bell-cranks, and hangers, with the cords and ropes and the drums, beingconsidered, however, a very simple and practical means for attaining theobject sought.

The drums b are provided with ratchets d, with which engage suitablepawls e to hold the drums stationary after releasing the crank-handle0', thereby making every provision for adjusting the frame of themachine, as shown in Fig. 10 of the drawings.

The derrick B and the brace-arms D are lowered so that they will restflat upon the frame A when the machine is not in use, any suitable meansbeing employed for this purpose or any system of cords or ropes andpulleys, as I do not wish to be understood as limiting my invention toany special means for lowering or raising the derrick and the bracearms,the cords or ropes and the drums and pulleys being one of many meansthat may be resorted to in attaining the same end. The cords or ropes od, which connect with the drums e, are supported on the notched ends ofposts f when the brace-arms are in lowered position, so that the cordsor ropes will be in position to first raise the brace-arms toward thefront to a position against the posts and then raise the derrick on thebrace-arms, which are inclined rearwardly as the derrick assumes aperpendicular position. When the derrick is lowered, the derrickprojects toward the front, while the brace-arms project toward the rear.

To the under side of the frame A and immediately above and over thetruckI is an internal gear-wheel K,which I term a master-wheel, which ispivoted by a king-bolt I, and with this internal gear meshes a pinion Lupon the lower end of an upright shaft g, which shaft has its bearing inthe frame. The shaft g, near its upper end, is provided with abevel-pinion M, which engages asimilar pinion N upon a transverse andhorizontal shaft 71., as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. A suitablebalance-wheel N is keyed or otherwise rigidly connected to the shaft 71,and upon the end of this shaft is a frictiondisk 0, of any suitableconstruction, with which engages a friction-wheel P upon a horizontalline-shaft Q,.extending nearly the entire length of the frame A andhaving its bearing therein. The friction-wheel P is mounted upon theshaft Qin the usual mannor to admit of its moving lengthwise of theshaft, but prevented from loosely rotating thereon, whereby when thefriction-wheel is rotated by frictional contact with the disk 0 theshaft Q will be rotated. The line-shaft Q extends through an elongatedslot 2" in the lower bifurcated end of a pivoted hand-lever R, whichstraddles the disk 0 and whose sidewise motion carries thefriction-wheel P either to the right or left of the friction-disk O,away from the center thereof, thereby controlling the rotation of theline-shaft. This line-shaft Q at its rear end is provided withbevel-pinion S, which engages a bevel gearwheel T upon the shaft of adrum U, said drum having a cord or rope 7" wound thereon and connectingwith a grooved pulley It at the top of the derrick B. The drum U isformed hollow, as shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings, and is locked to itsshaft J by means of a spring-actuated pawl K engaging the teeth of awheel L, which is keyed to the shaft, as shown. When it is desired tohave the drum revolve, the spring-pawl is engaged with the teeth, asshown in Fig. 9 of the drawings; but when it is desired to release thedrum the pawl is disengaged with the teeth of the wheel, so that thedrum will remain stationary while the shaft revolves. A guide-rod Zextends through the slot 2" in the pivoted hand-lever R, and by means ofthe lever the friction-wheel P is brought in contact with greater orless friction against the face of the disk 0, which will rotate thelineshaft Q through the medium of the frictionwheel, and by means of thepinion S and gearwheel T the drum U will be rotated to wind or unwindthe rope or cord j, and thereby raise the hammer O.

To the extreme rear end of the line-shaft Q is a pinion V, which engagesa similar pinion W beneath it on a short horizontal shaft m, whichlatter pinion is movable lengthwise upon the shaft by means of ahand-lever n, as shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings, thereby enabling thepinion to be brought in or out of gear with the pinion on theline-shaft, as circumstances may require in the operation of thegearing. The short horizontal shaft m is provided with a sprocket-wheelX, with which engages a sprocket-chain 0, said chain engaging asecondsprocket-wheel Y, provided with a bevel-gear p, which gear engages alarge bevel-gear Z, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The bevelgear'wheel Z is what I term a butterfly-wheel, said wheel havingjournaled therein a plurality of pinions D, as shown in Fig. 5 of thedrawings. The gearwheel Z is mounted on a horizontal shaft E, whichpasses through hollow shafts F, which latter shafts are provided withbevel gearwheels G and which mesh with the teeth of the pinions D. Thehollow shafts F are mounted in sliding journal-boxes F, connected bytoggle-levers F with a rock-shaft E, having a lever E, so that bypulling the lever rearward the gear-wheel Z can be disconnected fro mits d riving-gear. The leveris held in desired position by a catch H.The hollow shafts F are provided with pinions H at their ends to engagethe gear-wheels I, which are connected to the traction-wheels F, asshown. By thus gearing the hollow shafts F with the bevel-pinions Dwithin the bevel gear-wheel Z the rear wheels are enabled to move inunison or one faster than the other in different directionsindependently of the movementof the large gear-wheel.

The cord or rope j extends up and over pulley k and has connectedthereto a suitable holding and releasing device N, as shown in Figs. 6and 7 of the drawings. This holding and releasing device may be of anyof the usual forms or of the construction shown, as I do not wish to beunderstood as limiting myself to any special form or construction ofdevice, as any holding and releasing device that will successfullyengage and disengage the shank M of the weight or hammer C may be usedand any suitable weight or hammer may be employed with grooves thereinto engage the guides b, as found most desirable.

In connection with the holding and releasing device a sliding tripdevice 0 is employed, which also may be of any preferred construction,said trip device being suitably connected to the upper end of thederrick B, as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings. This trip device hasconnected thereto one end of a cord or rope r for operating it, the cordor rope passing under pulleys s t and then extending to the lever R, towhich it is attached. A hinged stand P is provided, which may be swungup into position and held in place by means of a prop Q, as shown inFig. 2 of the drawings, for supporting the person who is operating thehand-lever R.

After the machine is driven to the place where the posts are to bedriven the frame A is properly adjusted to a perfectly horizontalposition when required by the grade of the land or when on a hillside.This adjustment of the frame A is accomplished by the crankhandles 0 andtheir connections with the rocker G, which rocker forms a part of theframe and which is supported on the segmental bearing 15. The derrick Band the brace-arms D are elevated to their proper working position bymeans of the cords or ropes, the drums and the pulleys, as hereinbeforedescribed, or by any other suitable and well-known means which may beemployed for the purpose. When the machine is in position to bring thehammer 0 directly over the post and on line therewith, the holding andreleasing device N is now operated by means of the cams B when thedevice is elevated sufficiently to bring the arms of the device incontact with the cams, which action will spread outward the notched orlower ends of the arms and release the hammer O, which will fall by itsown gravity on the top of the post and successfully drive it into theground. The hammer C is again elevated to its striking position by meansof the cord or rope j winding around the drum U, which drum is 0peratedby means of the bevel gear-wheels S T. The bevel gear-wheel S has motionimparted to it by means of the line-shaft Q through the medium of thefriction-wheel P and friction-disk O, and this disk in turn has motionimparted to it through the bevel-gears M N and the pinion L engagingwith the teeth of the internal gear-wheel or master-wheel K, asillustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. This internal gear or masterwheel K is revolved or rotated by means of the horses traveling in acircle and passing in their course under the frame of the machine, and Iwish it understood that in this special feature of the invention, atongue, sweep, or any other contrivancemay be employed for connectingthe team with the master-wheel, so that it may be operated by the team,as hereinbefore described. It will be noticed that as the hammer ascendsthe holding and releasing device N will come in contact with the tripde- Vice 0' and raise it and thereby tighten the rope or cord r, and assaid rope or cord is connected to the hand-lever B it will cause thelever to move and carry the friction-wheel P back to the center of thefriction-disk O and stop the holding and releasing device withoutcausing any jerk which would otherwise occur. The rotation of the shaftQ is controlled and governed by the position and force with which thefriction-wheel bears against the friction-disk, as circumstances mayrequire. When it is desired to lower the holding and releasing device N,the springactuated pawl K is released from engagement with theratchet-wheel L, which will allow the drum to rotate independent of theshaft by the descent of the holding and re leasing device and the cordor rope connecting it with the drum. There is a special construction ofgearing on the rear truck E, as

shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings and hereinbefore described, whichgearing is in connection with the traction-wheels F and the shaft Q andalso the pinion W on the shaft m. This pinion W is brought in or outofgear by the hand-lever n, and the sprocket-wheels X Y and thesprocket-chain 0' connect with the butterfly gear-wheel Z. Thisarrangement of gearing enables the traction-wheels to be controlled inmoving the machine from post to post or only a short distance. When thepinion W is shifted to engage the pinion V, motion will be imparted tothe shaft m and likewise to the sprocket-wheel X, and through saidsprocket-wheel and the chain 0 and sprocket-wheel Y motion is impartedto the large butterfly-wheel Z through the medium of the bevel-gear pengaging the teeth of said wheel. Through the gear-wheels G engagingwith the pinions D the shafts F are caused to revolve and also thepinions H. These pinions H engaging with the gearwheels I as a fixtureon the traction-wheels F will force said traction-wheels to rotate,

- and thereby carry the machine a short distance to the next post to bedriven.

Any suitable gearing may be substituted for that shown to impart motionto the traction-wheels independent of the draft of the team, and suchchanges may be resorted to as circumstances require to render theoperation successful.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A machine for driving posts, piles and other objects, consisting of asuitable frame mounted upon wheels, and a derrick pivoted thereto, aweight or hammer and a suitable holding and releasing mechanismtherefor, and suitable brace-arms pivoted to the frame havingratchet-teeth upon their upper and under side, and means for engagingthe ratchet-teeth to hold the arms in position, substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.

2. A machine for driving posts, piles and other objects, consisting of asuitable frame, wheeled trucks connecting therewith, a derrick pivotedto the frame and adapted to fold down toward the front end of themachine, a suitable weight or hammer, a holding and releasing devicetherefor, cams upon the upper end of the derrick and acting on the armsof the holding and releasing device when brought in contact therewith torelease the weight or hammer, pivoted brace-arms engaging the derrick tohold it in position and adapted to fold down toward the rear end of themachine, and a suitable arrangement of cords or ropes, pulleys and drumsfor raising and lowering the derrick and arms, substantially as and forthe purpose specified. 3. A machine for driving posts, piles or otherobjects, consisting of a suitable frame mounted upon wheeled trucks, apivoted derrick, pivoted brace-arms for supporting the derrick when inuse, an internal gear-wheel connecting with the front truck of themachine, a vertical shaft carrying a pinion engaging the teeth of thewheel, a pinion upon the upper end of the shaft, a horizontal shaftcarrying a pinion engaging the pinion of the vertical shaft, abalance-wheel on the horizontal shaft, a friction-disk thereon, and afriction-wheel adapted to bear against the disk and provided with ahand-lever, and a lineshaft to which the friction-wheel and the leverare connected, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. A machine for driving posts, piles or other objects, consisting of asuitable frame mounted upon wheeled trucks, a pivoted derrick andpivoted arms for supporting the derrick in an upright position, aline-driving shaft provided with a pinion at its rear end, a short shaftand a pinion adjustable thereon to bring it in or out of engagement withthe 10 releasing device, and means for operating the trip, substantiallyas and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my nameinthe presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN S. KOESTER.

Witnesses:

E. F. MADDEN, W. HAINES.

